Archive for December 2013

December 12, 2013 @ 2:07 pm

When it came time to put together my annual Top Ten Albums of the Year for The Sound Magazine one album immediately jumped into my head. It was the album that I had been listening to non-stop since being introduced to it back in September. That album was Spreading Rumours by GROUPLOVE. The album is filled with single-worthy tracks that get you up, bring you down, chill you out and get you thinking. What’s different about this band and this album is that not every song sounds the same. In fact, you can make the argument that a lot of the tracks on Spreading Rumours sound like a completely different band entirely. The record plays like a movie soundtrack from the 90’s and I mean that in the best way possible. Recently I got to chat with Christian Zucconi, the lead male vocalist of the band who shares singer/songwriter duties with his female counterpart Hannah Hooper. Spreading Rumours ended up at #2 on my Top Ten Albums of the Year list but to be fair, depending on the minute or the hour or the day of the week, any of the top three on that list are my favorite at any given time. It was a great year for music. Christian and I chat about making this awesome record, what separates it from their debut LP, how the band is dealing with success and what to expect from them in 2014. Follow the band on twitter @Grouplove and be sure to check them out when they come to your city for a live show that is not to be missed!

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December 10, 2013 @ 1:46 pm

Nick Kroll had quite the year on the small screen. The successful standup comic is part of the ensemble cast of the hit comedy, The League, which has already been picked up for it’s sixth season. His own sketch show, Kroll Show will be premiering it’s second season on Comedy Central in January of 2014. Last but not least, Kroll was one of the standouts on the very funny James Franco Roast, holding his own with Hollywood heavyweights like Seth Rogan and Jonah Hill. Even with all this Nick still has time to tour the country performing his true love, standup comedy, for his devoted fanbase. On December 13th he will be swinging through Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in what is somewhat of a homecoming for Kroll, who grew up a bit further down I-95 in Rye, NY. Nick joined me to talk about The League, his personal relationship with fantasy football, what fans can expect from the upcoming season of Kroll Show, who his favorite guest stars were and we end by playing the podcast’s first edition of Google Over/Unders, a new fun game that alienates guests by comparing their level of fame with that of other celebrities that share their first name, all based on the order in which they show up in a Google search. A fun show as always that you don’t want to miss! Follow Nick on twitter @NickKroll

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December 2, 2013 @ 11:24 am

(SPOILER ALERT: This interview is SPOILER CITY. Do not listen to it until you have at least seen one version of Oldboy or do not mind having the twists and turns revealed to you here)

This is the third and final installment of my Oldboy coverage and was actually the one-on-one interview I was the most looking forward to. As you may know by now, I saw director Spike Lee and screenwriter Mark Protosevich’s version of Oldboy first and then watched the remake two days later. This not only caused me to really enjoy the remake, but also with both films so fresh in my mind I was instantly able to pick out the changes that Mark made when adapting the cult film for American audiences.

Mark Protosevich and I go through all the differences between the two films, why he felt they were necessary, the pressures of adapting a true cult phenomenon, restructuring the twist, where this twist ranks in the pantheon of famous movie twists and much much more! If you are a fan of Oldboy, original, remake or both, you MUST listen to this fascinating interview at some point! It’s rare that you get to break down a project, spoilers and all, with the man who crafted each and every moment on a keyboard.